I Feel Love
by CaptainMarvel99
Summary: As they go about their busy lives, the Avengers start encountering a stray dog who seems to be at the right place at the right time. Can this dog mend the rifts between them?
1. Chapter 1

**Hi readers, first of all, thanks for clicking (or tapping) on this fanfic. I had this idea after rewatching an old favorite movie, Benji. So it occurred to me, how would the storyline go, more or less, with the Avengers in it? This could be considered a crossover, but there is currently no Benji category anywhere and it's much simpler for me to post it here. I'm just borrowing the idea.**

 **Disclaimers: Benji brings to Joe Camp, the Avengers belong to Marvel, I think. And all typos belong to me.**

 **Set before Spider-man: Homecoming, and the Accords are non-existent; Civil War was resolved better. That's how come everyone is in the same tower.**

 **So without further ado, the story.**

The sun was just barely peeking over the New York skyline, welcoming the beginning of a new day. As the light shimmered and danced through the windows of Avengers Tower, a few of its residents were already up. Steve made his way from his room to the kitchen area to get a snack before his morning run. He didn't usually eat before running, breakfast would come later. Opening the fridge he found a takeout box of leftovers, just what he needed. The top of the box has the letters 'C. A.' written in big letters with a huge red and blue star. The sides said 'Posted' and 'Keep Out'.

'Well, who did this?', he thought, holding the box over his head to see the bottom. There was a hastily scrawled picture of a spider and an arrow in lieu of signatures.

It looks like Peter and Clint decided the box wasn't pretty enough.

"Friday, is anyone else up yet?" Steve asked, glancing at the ceiling before grabbing a Ziploc bag and putting the food in it.

"Ms. Romanoff has already left the Tower for last-minute supplies, Dr. Banner is in the lab, and Sir is in his workshop contemplating a new addition to the latest Mark. The rest of the team is still asleep. Do you want me to wake them?"

"No Friday, thanks", Steve said, slinging a pack over his shoulder as he entered the elevator. Stopping for a moment, he added, "And by contemplating, do you mean actively napping on his workbench". A statement really, not a question.

A pause. "Yes, Mr. Rogers. Enjoy your morning".

Steve grinned as he walked off the elevator and out the Tower doors. People were bustling in the lobby; by now it was about 6 o'clock. Exiting the tower, Steve adjusted his pack and started jogging. As he ran, he thought about what he would do today. Actually, when you think about it, not much. There were no missions slated for the foreseeable future, and Steve hadn't made any plans for the weekend. Knowing Tony, it wouldn't be dull for very long. Today was Peter's last day of school, summer vacation to follow. The group was having a surprise party for Peter tonight, the only problem was him not finding out. With his enhanced hearing, sight, and suppposed sixth sense, it already was pretty hard to plan the event. Thor was even coming. He would be visiting for the summer, along with his reformed brother.

'We'll see how that goes', Steve thought.

But since when has Thor ever lied to them? If he says Loki has changed, at least they should give them a chance. Still, it would be hard to get over. How or where do you start? 'Hey there, how's it going? I haven't seen you since you tried to take over the earth.' Steve shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. Things were hard enough as they were, worrying wouldn't solve anything.

Glancing around, he noticed he was at the nearby park. Leaning against a tree, he looked over the area. There were quite a few people there already. Some rode their bikes, others walked their dogs. One fellow stood out in particular. He walked about aimlessly with his dog, and was rather focused on the smartphone in his other hand. So focused, in fact, that he failed to notice his dog do a #2 in front of him, which he subsequently stepped in. Suddenly aware, he looked up and around before glancing down and wrinkling his nose in disgust. Poor guy. Steve's thoughts were interrupted by a short yap. In front of him stood a shaggy brown and tan dog staring at him intently.

"Hey buddy, how're you doing?"

Another yap.

"Well good, I've been fine myself. I'll bet you're hungry, so I brought you something", as Steve spoke, "I hope you like sweet and sour chicken, without the sauce, of course". He reached in his pack and pulled out the bag of food. He first encountered this dog a few months back on one of his morning runs. He'd stopped at this park to munch on a snack, only to find the little critter eyeing him as he ate. Being the good person he is, he couldn't let an animal starve. So ever since then, Steve has brought along tidbits with him. He must be pretty smart to have avoided animal control this long. The dog was obviously excited to see Steve, running in circles, wagging his tail, and barking.

"Okay, it's all yours, go ahead little buddy", Steve said, setting the paper plate of food on the ground. As his 'buddy' ate, Steve talked about yesterday, Peter's party, and his worries from earlier. All the while, the dog would occasionally pause to bark or stare.

"You know, you'd make a great therapy dog, being such a great listener".

Yap.

"Yeah, who knows, you must have a busy schedule of your own".

In answer, the dog shook his head vigorously.

"Ok, that's all I've got for now. I may not be out tomorrow, things could get busy at the Tower. I could send someone out here, we'll just have to see.

'Buddy' barked enthusiastically. Knowing that dog, he probably was smart enough to find the Tower anyway. Steve put away everything and got ready to leave.

"Guess I'll see you around buddy, have a safe day."

The dog barked once more before turning and heading in the opposite direction. Steve smiled.

'What would Tony think if I brought back a stray dog?', Steve pondered on his way home.

 **I'm trying to get this out ASAP, mainly to motivate me. I have a hard time keeping up with multi-chapter fanfictions. So this is based on the 1974 movie. If you haven't seen it, please watch it, tell me what you think. It's a great family film and may or may not make more sense in reading this.**

I **f you have any ideas, PM me and I'll try to get back with you. Feedback is greatly appreciated. :-)**

 **I don't have a beta so any mistakes you see, please let me know and I'll correct them; I've proofread this three times.**

 **Also, can anyone guess the where the title came from?**

 **Thanks for reading and y'all have a nice day.**


	2. Chapter 2

Natasha looked on from the other side of the park as Steve and the dog went their separate ways. The dog jumped up on an empty bench to peer over the edge of a trash can, putting his head and two front paws inside it. Suddenly, his tail disappeared from sight. Natasha smiled. It had intrigued her, why Steve kept taking food with him on his runs; he wasn't the kind to eat something like half of a steak or fried chicken for breakfast. So, starting at least 2 weeks ago, she had followed him discreetly, from a distance. Just as she expected, he wasn't eating the leftovers, but was surprised to see him playing with a dog. In a way, It was comforting to know. Having something to take care of was the reprieve he needed lately ever since he and the team moved back in the Tower. It's easy to say you forgive someone, but much harder to prove it. And yes, things have been tense now, like the next little thing would be the straw that broke the camel's back. Their friendships were strained, and that wouldn't be magically fixed overnight, much less in two months. These musings wandered about in Nat's head as she sat on a park bench in the shade, with a magazine held up in her hands and a couple of bags next to her. She had one more stop to make at a local bakery to make sure the order was filled. Sighing, she set the magazine down-

YAP!

Slightly startled, she just noticed the dog had made his way across the area… over to her.

"Well, how long have you been sitting there mister?"

The dog ran in circles in front of her happily. She was impressed; it isn't everyday someone sneaks up on a master spy. Clint would love him. Even more interesting is the fact that he decided to approach her today. At least six times, she has tried to follow him after he left the park, but he managed to lose her. Every. Time.

"You think you're real smart, don't you?", she said in a mock anger tone. The dog barked and rolled over on the ground, laying on his back and pawing at the air lazily. Rolling her eyes, Natasha leaned over and rubbed his belly.

"Oh, turning up the charm, huh? Well, I really don't have anything for you, unless you want to come with me to the bakery. But I'm pretty sure they wouldn't let you in looking like that."

The scruffy dog shook his head earnestly and looked at her. One of his ears was folded, the little rascal.

"If you're coming, we got to make some changes here", she said, pulling a compact brush out of her purse. 'It's not like I use this anyway', she thought to herself. Getting up, she kneeled in the grass and patted the ground in front of her. "Sneaky-find-out-name?' sat there obediently as she brushed away the tangles. A couple minutes later, she stepped back to admire her handiwork. The dog's coat now was clean and shiny, definitley better than before.

"Ok, you look presentable now, and it's time to get going". Natasha wiped her hands clean, making a metal note to wash her hands when they got therre, and picked up her things. The dog picked up her magazine and followed.

"Great, now I'm best friends with a dog".

It didn't take long to get to the bakery and check on a couple things. The order for tonight was good to go. If the manager thought anything about the dog coming inside, he certainly didn't say anything about it. In the end, Natasha headed back to the Tower, but the dog refused to follow, instead leaving with a turkey sandwich in his mouth, courtesy of his new friend. He was a dog on a mission, it seemed.

"Alright then, you stay out of trouble now", she called out before walking off.

The rest of the morning was spent wandering about, following a cyclist, and chasing a cat near an apartment complex before the owner ran him off. This last thing was almost a morning tradition, and the cat lady knew it.

By now, it was getting close to lunchtime. So the little brown dog made his way to a small cafe that was near the Avenger Tower, with surprisingly few people noticing him. The cafe adjoined a next-door bookstore, and was usually bustling with people. Arriving ther, the dog set down his sandwich and looked around. Some people were enjoying the outdoor tables, which were closed off from the sidewalks by sturdy railing. Finally, he settled his attention on one table. At it, was seated a middle-aged man by himself, bent over a book, but obviously not reading it. Slowly, his head slid down the hand he was resting on until he slipped completely. Suddenly alert, he jerked his head up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Feeling like someone was watching him, he glanced around until he saw the dog.

"Hey Indy, I was wondering where you were. Come on over", he said, gesturing to the the area next to him, barely paying attention when his food arrived.

"Your lunch Mr. Banner", the waitress said, setting down a club sandwich with chips and potato soup on the table.

"Thank you very much", Bruce acknowledged as he moved his books aside to make room for the plates.

"Your welcome, if you need anything else, let me know." And with that, the lady left.

Throughout all of this, the dog had gone over to Bruce's table and slid under the railing with just a little effort. He now sat contentedly next to his friend.

"Indy, you're 20 minutes late, what am I gonna do with you?"

The dog lay down and covered his head with his paws.

"Oh, you don't wanna hear it do you? Well, I don't blame you. This day has been too crazy already and it's only halfway over. Couldn't sleep very well last night, so if I dunk my head in my soup, you're in charge of letting me know.

The dog sat back up and tilted his head.

"Tony has spent all morning down in the lab, I think something about a gift for Peter. Which reminds me, we're throwing him a party to kick off summer vacation, don't you tell him. You're invited too; it'll be at the Tower, right over there", Bruce pointed in the direction of the building with his spoon, only a few blocks away. Shaking his head, he sighed. "I'm glad and all that the team is back together, but it feels like something's missing. I guess we need unity, a common cause, anything to glue it back together. Wish I could've been here to stop what happened, somehow."

The dog placed his head on Bruce's knee and looked up at him, ignoring the chips he'd been working on.

"Do you think I could have done something?", he asked, sandwich waving vaguely in his hand.

'Indy' responded by lying down with his rear end in the air, almost like a bow. He wagged his tail energetically and bobbed his head like he was going to bark.

"Ok, then. Guess I'm blaming myself, aren't I?"

Then 'Indy' barked. A couple at the next table looked up from their lunch, irritated. Bruce smiled apologetically before hurriedly hushing his friend.

"Hey, don't make so much noise, they'll kick us both out". He smiled again, this time genuinely as 'Indy' pawed at his pants leg. All day he has felt a bit down, and all it took was a half hour with his four-legged friend to cheer him up. "I got to be going in a minute, Steve and Bucky will be back at the Tower in an hour and someone needs to be a referee, not that anything will happen, I hope."

Bruce fished out a five from his wallet and set it on the table under the glass of water. He got up and walked over to the cashier.

"Oh, here you go, you can have the rest of this, I won't eat it." Bruce held out the other sandwich half from earlier. 'Indy' took it and finished it while Bruce paid his check. They walked out together to the sidewalk.

"I'll see you Monday then, take care of yourself now."

Yap. The dog sniffed at the air and headed back the way he came, on his way home. Bruce looked at him before walking back to the Tower.

 **Thanks for reviews, especially TinyShadowCat, EmzyWonder, and Wolfy76398. Y'all encouraged me to write to write sooner. :-)**


	3. Chapter 3

"Remind me again why I'm sitting here?"

Bucky sat on a park bench by himself, so he didn't really expect anyone to answer him. Steve had asked him to come to the park in his stead to meet someone for him. When Bucky had asked what he looked like, he got a great description.

'He's got brown hair, four legs, and is about two and a half feet tall; you've seen him before', Steve had said, all smiles.

At first, Bucky thought he was kidding, but slowly realized Steve was serious. But, being his friend, he would go to the park for him, frisbee in hand (Bucky's idea really). And Steve would be busy all day, lending a hand to clean multi-colored pie filling and crusts off the ceilings from last night.

The party, right.

'Lucky me', Bucky thought; the prospect of escaping cleaning duty pleasing him greatly.

The night had gone off with a bang, literally. Steve was the first to get hit. In the ensuing, all-out pie fight, no one was spared. Even Vision and Bruce took part in bringing the 'mighty' Thor down with cherry and rhubarb pies. Tony had laughed so hard when he hit Cap again with a pie, and then slipped on one himself during his hysterical laughter. For a moment there, everything seemed perfect.

Bucky sighed and observed his surroundings. The sun was already high in the sky, and the park was full of people and kids. A group of young ones were playing soccer not too far from him. They were laughing and shouting as they kicked it between them, stubbornly stopping their game when their parents called them to go. One girl lingered behind to pet a dog that approached her. She kicked the ball away and giggled loudly as the dog pushed it back with its nose. Again, her mom called her.

"Coming mama! Bye bye doggie", the last part told to the dog in a lower voice before she hugged him tight and left.

The dog shook himself after she was gone and scanned the area.

Bucky stood up and got the dog's attention, waving the frisbee in the air, "Come here boy, over here."

'What was it Steve called him? Ah', Bucky thought, before calling out again, "Hey, Buddy!"

The dog snapped his attention to Bucky and took off on a dead run.

"Uh oh", was the only words he got out before he was tackled by 30 pounds of flying fluff.

"Down. Off. Go. Sit. Come on now!" Bucky all but shouted between intervals, trying to get the dog off of him, but the animal was content to jump on him repeatedly and lick his face. Finally, he threw the frisbee away to catch him with his other hand when the dog ran after the sailing toy.

"That's all you wanted?", he asked .

'Buddy' trotted up and barked victoriously, setting the toy at Bucky's feet. Then he flopped on his side and rolled around in the damp grass without a care in the world.

"You my friend, are something else", Bucky chided the dog. He now had grass clippings all over his clothes and his new cap lay on the ground, where it fell off during the brief tussle.

'Note to self, specials thanks to the guy who mowed the park yesterday', he thought.

"Now do you want to eat, or not? Cause I didn't bring this, uh," Bucky paused to look inside the lunchbag he held, "these chicken tenders, for nothing."

Yap.

"The voice of reason", Bucky exclaimed with outstretched arms. "Here you go boy."

Bucky tossed a piece of chicken in the air, expecting the dog to catch it. Said dog simply stared at it before blinking at it slowly.

"What, you think I poisoned it?" Bucky groaned, "Come on, look here."

He took another chicken strip out and bit into it. "Mmmmm, see? Perfectly harmless. This was my dinner yesterday, so I should know."

Seemingly satisfied, 'Buddy' practically inhaled the rest of the chicken. Once he was done, he grabbed the frisbee again and did a play bow to Bucky, ready for some more action.

"Really?"

 **So I'm trying to keep things moving along, they'll get even better, I promise.** **For those who didn't know, the title is based on the song "I Feel Love" by Charlie Rich. Its the opening song in the movie Benji.** **And I'm debating whether or not to make a spin-off chapter on the pie fight, let me know. Otherwise I might not...** **Thanks for reading and stay tuned!**


	4. Chapter 4

_"…only half an hour ago, an apartment complex caught on fire. Authorities have not yet discovered the cause of the fire, though it may be linked to existing old gas lines. Residents are still being evacuated from within and from the closest builings. First responders and fire fighters now on scene are currently still having a hard time containing and controlling the fire, though their efforts are being aided by none other than our own Avengers. We wil continue reporting live as this scene unfold-"_

May sighed as she muted the television during her lunch break. The news was too depressing sometimes. Her lunch bag lay discarded on the narrow table next to her keys and cellphone. Somewhat worried, she texted her nephew. Peter was spending the day with Ned, putting together a Lego model of Avengers Tower. Halfway through the text, she stopped and simply called him, her attention darting to the TV showing all the heroes rescuing people from inside and trying to douse the fire.

 _"Ok, that's good… Uh, Hello?"_

"Hey Peter, just checking on you. You guys having fun?"

 _"Oh, yeah, plenty of fun. We were thinking of watching a movie afterwards and maybe a sandwic- CRASH!"_

May was jolted out of her thoughts as she looked at the TV. On screen, the camera shook as something had just exploded in the building.

"Peter, what was that?", sounding worried and suspicious at the same time.

 _"Oh, nothing, just, Ned dropped the model, and, uh, now we have to fix it, again."_

Before she could say anything, Ned chimed in rapidly.

 _"Sorry May, didn't mean to startle you."_

'Dumb coincidence', May thought with relief. She absently fiddled with the Coca-Cola keychain Peter had given her last year. Oddly, it brought her a measure of comfort, that and talking to him too.

"Yeah, Aunt May, sorry. I'll call you later", Peter hurriedly said.

"Ok, you be good. Bye, Ned. See you later Peter. Love you!"

"Love you too May, bye." Peter tried not to sound too distracted.

'The call with your aunt has ended, Peter. Ned is still on the other line'.

"Okay, Karen. And thanks Ned, I owe you one."

"Hey, no problem. I just saw you on the news. Boy, that building is really blazing!"

"Yeah, it's pretty hot here- Oh, hey guys. Gotta go Ned."

"Ok then, stay safe. I'll save some of the legos for you", Ned finished right before the call ended. Turning his attention back to the remaining pieces, he shrugged and opened yet another box of Star Wars themed Legos.

Back on Peter's end, things were getting a little hectic. He'd found a couple more people in the 4th floor, thankfully the last ones. So he focused on getting them out, one at a time.

Smoke.

That was the first thing he noticed.

Blearily, the dog got up and crawled out from under a coffee table in the corner of the room. Smoke seeped in from under closed doors in the other rooms of the vacant apartment. It was recently slated for renovation, so no one lived in this one yet. Now more alert, he sneezed and headed for the broken window he used every day to go out on his daily rounds. But on looking out, the fire was raging in the lower floors, making it hard to see through the black, puffy column of smoke. While trying to figure a way out, suddenly a large ceiling beam simply dropped in the room behind, engulfed in flames from the hallway. The dog jumped as he looked back and began frantically barking out the window.

"Here you go ma'am", Peter said as he set down a young girl, happy to see her reunited with her family.

"Great job, got it all taken care of?" Tony said as he flew up in his suit and flipped up the faceplate.

"Yes sir, Mr. Stark. Was there anyone else inside?" Peter practically shouted to be heard over the sirens and loud noise.

Tony winced, both at Peter's volume (they had earpieces for a reason, and busting one's eardrums was not one of them) and also at being called 'Mr. Stark', but ignored these in favor of answering the question.

"Eh, just about 30 altogether, we got them all out. Thank goodness for Memorial Day sales or more would've been home today."

"Friend Tony!" a loud voice boomed. Again with the earpiece, did no one care?

"I have checked again, there is no one else inside."

"That's good. Hey Spangles, how's it holding up on your end?" Tony asked, faceplate falling back in position to run a quick scan of the next door building.

"It's all fine here", Steve grunted as he carried someone slung over his shoulder.

"And Reindeer Games?"

Before Steve could answer that, a sort of loopy Loki picked his head up and all but yelled into Steve's earpiece:

"Thor, you are the best brother I could ever ask for!"

"Is Loki alright?", Clint asked over the intercom.

Tony snickered as Thor beamed happily.

"Kinda. We got the last of the residents out of the other building, but then it started raining flower pots from a broken ledge. The fire must have really compromised the structural integrity of this apartment.

Tony's amusement turned into confusion.

"I didn't know we gave Loki a communicator."

"We didn't", was Steve's only reply as he rounded another corner of the block.

Tony was tickled pink as he started to understand what happened, but his laughter was short-lived when Peter broke in.

"Mr. Stark, did you hear that?" Peter asked, looking distractedly at the flaming building.

"Yeah, Loki just yelled in Cap's ear."

"What? No, I mean from the building. It sounded like, a bark?"

"Friday, are there any dogs in that building?"

By then, the wind, which had picked up some over the course of the morning, decided to blow a little harder, clearing the smoke briefly, revealing a scruffy dog in one of the higher floor windows. Thor squinted to see the dog, and as Tony zoomed in on the picture, it was Peter who spoke first.

"Benji?"

A with that, he ran and shot a web at the top of a fire truck ladder, swinging as fast as he could.

"Should we help the Man of Spiders?" Thor asked anybody.

"Dont know yet." Tony shrugged, but still addressed Peter over the coms, "You be careful, the wind is shifting again."

"Yes sir", was all he got back. Tony scratched his head and turned to Thor, and Steve, who'd just arrived.

"You know, we should've brought marshmallows with us."

The dog barked out the window again and then flattened himself on the floor as Peter swung through at full speed and landed in a crouch.

"Hey Benji, what are you doing here? I always wondered where you lived. Let's get you out of here."

Peter reached out for the dog, but Benji backed away and ran off towards another room.

"Come on Benji, we gotta get out of here", Peter groaned as he chased the dog. Quickly entering the room, he was surprised to see Benji staring at a white cat crouched under a rickety dresser.

"A friend of yours, huh? Alright then, let's go guys. Come here, kitty kitty", Peter coaxed the cat out. He tucked it safely under his left arm while shielding it with his right, and ran back towards the window he'd come in.

"Okaaaaay… So I can't carry you both wth me without webbing maybe one of you-"

YAP!

"Ok, fur, bad idea. Let's see, Mr. Stark?" Peter spoke as he scrambled for ideas. The flames had begun entering the room already, thankfully the furniture was sparse.

'Yeah, kid?"

"I could use a hand here, do any of you like cats?"

"Sure, a bit occupied at the moment, Point Break is gonna help you", Tony answer sounded strained over the coms. Incidentally, a fire truck had backed over a sewage drain, which crumbled under the immense weight. With smoke and flame being blown towards the vehicle, they were trying to move it, but the water wasn't being pumped out fast enough. Therefore, both Steve and Tony were attempting to lift the back end of the truck up and out the hole.

"I am coming Peter, which floor are you on?" Thor asked, hammer spinning in his hand as he scanned the structure.

"Benji, stop it." The dog was tugging insistently on Peter's suit leg and barking loudly.

"Thor, I'm on the sixth floor, see here? Woah!", Peter exclaimed, jumping a foot back from the window he was just waving out of. Another support beam fell, unable to take the strain, mere feet from the window.

"Thanks, boy" was all he said before Thor flew in.

"Here's the cat, grab it like this, hurry", Peter instructed. His spider sense was going haywire right now, that wasn't good at all. Taking his chances, Peter hugged Benji tightly and leapt out the window after Thor, simultaneously shooting a web at the opposite building. Nearly a second later, an explosion rang out behind them the impact sending them veering off the intended course. Reacting quickly, Peter twisted in mid-air, catching a light pole with another web and swinging, unfortunately, into Clint.

"Heads u-"

BOOM!

Both people were disoriented and hastily covered their heads to protect themselves from the flying debris. Benji got up first and shook himself. Satisfied, he went over to lick Clint's face.

"I hope you're apologizing", he groaned, still a bit dazed, but pet the dog anyway.

'Whew, that was a close one", Peter gasped, getting his bearings.

"No kidding, good thing I was standing here to cushion your fall." By now, Clint was on his feet.

"Sorry, Hawkeye", Peter mumbled sheepishly.

The sound of thrusters preceded Tony' arrival and cut off the awkward moment. His formerly shiny suit was now scorched and covered in soot, but thankfully intact. Then again, of course it was, a genius had designed it.

"Alright, I'm beat. The fire's under control now, the truck's unstuck, and it's lunchtime. FRIDAY, let Bruce and Pepper know we're headed back, I'm hungry."

'On it, Boss', the AI responded.

The rest of the team stood by, looking worse for the wear. Tony opened his mouth, a witty comment on the tip of his tongue, but never got the chance to say it.

"Has anyone seen my Sweetie Peetie?", an older lady worriedly came up, effectively silencing the billiionaire.

Thor looked confused at such a name and glanced down when the cat in his arms meowed loudly. The lady instantly came up to him and began thanking him profusely for saving the life of her "precious darling" and "little baby".

"That went well", Clint spoke up when she finally left.

"All in a good day's work I guess", Steve sighed, still half-supporting Loki with an arm under his shoulder. Said person seemed better than 15 minutes ago, trying to maintain as much dignity as he could.

"She did seem ready to knock out your brother with her purse when he laughed at her cat's name. He must've got a nice bump on his head from those petunias", Clint broke out laughing, unable to contain himself. Tony also joined in, leaving Steve and Loki to scowl, the latter fixing them with a death glare.

"Come, let us return to the tower and eat!", Thor boomed.

Everyone winced and hastily removed or turned off their earpieces.

"Can we have Bruce look at Benji, too?" Peter piped up, carrying the dog in his arms. "He was limping earlier."

All eyes turned to actually notice the bedraggled dog before them.

"Hey buddy, you're the one from the park aren't you?" Steve recognized his little friend and held out a hand, leaning forward just slightly to reach his head. Benji squirmed out of Peter's hold to get to Steve, and sure enough was limping on his front paw and wagging his tail without a care in the world. Tony had watched all this silently, probably weighing his options.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to get him checked out," Tony started.

"Yes!" Peter exclaimed and fist bumped Steve.

"But, we can't keep him forever, he must have an owner."

"I doubt it. After I started my patrols, I've always seen Benji around, by himself. Honestly, I think he's just a stray", Peter explained.

ARF!

"He agrees", Clint quipped, and assumed a mock serious air. "All in favor, say aye."

"Fine, whatever. But if he's not housebroken, you're cleaning up after him", Tony gave in, pointing at Peter and Steve.

Clint stifled a giggle, or tried to at least.

"And Legolas, you have just earned Super Duper Pooper Scooper duty when Peter's not around."

 **And that completes Chapter 4. And I can finally start calling the dog Benji (instead of 'the dog'), that'll be his permanent name now, Yay**!

 **Since, the last chapter was real short, hopefully this'll make up for it and for the time it took me to post this. (In case you're wondering, this alone is 2,256 words).**

 **Also, I've decided to write the spin-off chapter of the pie fight. I might have it ready by next week.**

 **A** **nd dear readers, I have a question for you. How do you want to see Loki interact with Benji? For him to either like Benji or not? I have a general direction already, but input would be nice y'all. We'll see.**

 **So, if you like, review. If you don't like… Review.**

 **Next chapter: Benji in the Tower.**


	5. Chapter 5

The Avengers entered the tower looking worse for the wear, save for Tony, whose suit protected him well. The only thing was that he looked plain tired and in need of a good nap. Clint was cradling his stomach with his right arm and walked with a stiff gait. Thor, who was simply dirty, supported his brother on his right side, with Steve on the opposite side, who sported more than just a few bruises himself. Loki was grinning widely at something Peter had said about driving and damaging an expensive car. And Peter was still carrying Benji, who'd been barking at passersby, and especially at Friday every time she spoke.

This was the sight that greeted Natasha, Bucky, and Dr. Banner as the returning group entered the medical facility.

"Hey guys, how's it going?" Peter asked first.

"We're fine, but I think we should be asking you all that question. What happened out there?" Bruce said as he took off his reading glasses and setting some papers aside.

"Well- ", Steve started to say, but Clint quickly took over.

"We put out a fire, rescued a bunch of people, it rained flowers on Cap and Loki, I became a human whoopie cushion, and we have a new addition to the team. Now can we hurry up and get it over with?"

Natasha rolled her eyes, Clint's disdain for hospitals couldn't be more obvious. Her attention was suddenly attracted to Peter, who stood to the rear of the group.

Bucky and Bruce shared confused looks before the latter spoke up, "We have a new member?"

At this point, Tony cut in, "Yup, we have a mascot now." He moved over to reveal Peter holding a small brown dog.

"Ta-da", Peter cheered as he raised the dog a little higher.

"Oh, hey Indy", Bruce said as he finished checking on Clint and Loki.

"You know him, too? Who else besides me knows this dog?" Tony asked, insulted.

Both Bucky and Natasha raised their hands, staying silent and the latter rolling her eyes yet again.

Bruce simply shrugged.

By now, Peter had walked up to an empty metal table and set Benji on it slowly.

"Dr. Banner, could you please check his paw? He's been limping on it ever since we found him.

"Alright, I'll see what I can do", Banner said as he gently picked up Benji's paw and examined it closely. After about a minute, he hummed victoriously.

"I see the problem, there was a splinter in his paw. I got it out now, so he'll be good as new. You probably may want to take him to the vet to get his shots and everything, just to be on the safe side."

Peter nodded eagerly and was already making plans to visit the local veterinarian with Clint and Steve.

Clint spoke up at this point, "So Cap, this is the dog you were telling about last week? He looks better in person or whatever than that picture you snapped, it was pretty blurry."

Steve rolled his eyes and smiled in agreement. In the other hand Tony simply looked flustered.

"So is there some sort of conspiracy against me like, 'lets keep a secret from Tony' or something?"

Natasha decided to deign that with an answer if her own this time, "Well you never asked."

Tony threw his hands up in exasperation before narrowing his eyes and looking towards the ceiling suspiciously.

"Friday, did you know about this too?"

' _Yes boss. Actually, Mr. Rogers informed me -- months ago when inquiring about foods that are harmful to dogs.'_

"Traitor."

' _Whatever you say boss.'_

ARF!

"And you", Tony swivelled around and pointed at Benji. "Stop barking at my AI."

Arf.

"Are you sassing me, dog?"

At this Benji crouched and growled playfully at Tony, just itching to jump on him. Peter decided to intervene while they were ahead.

"I think we ought to feed him. And don't worry Mr. Stark, we really don't want you to feel left out. From this point on, he will be known as Benjamin Indiana Stark", Peter exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Why does he have to have my last name? Why not Barton's or Rogers'?"

"Well it's the thought that counts. And it sounds better too, eh? Like it has class-"

"Forget it kid. Just get him patched up and be done with it. I'm gonna go now and get my lunch; Pepper's waiting on me anyway."

And with that Tony left.

Little did he know, that later on, that was exactly the name they put on the vet papers for Benji.

Ok, so Chapter 5, up. Honestly, I have rewritten this chapter at least 6 times, and was not satisfied at all with it each time. The only reason it is now up is because my sibling helped me with it. Hope y'all like it though.


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